


How Hannibal Got His Groove Back

by shadowkitty



Category: A-Team (2010)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-01
Updated: 2010-12-01
Packaged: 2017-10-13 11:40:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/136940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowkitty/pseuds/shadowkitty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-movie, Murdock’s concussed, Hannibal’s confidence is shattered, Face is still riding the plan high and B.A. just wants his <s>mama</s> van. Mix <a href="http://shinymessoyay.livejournal.com/16574.html">here</a>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How Hannibal Got His Groove Back

B.A. swerved the stolen jeep so that Murdock's lolling head smacked against the window. "You know you ain't allowed to go to sleep, fool. You have a concussion."

"Wstfgl?" B.A.'s particular brand of mothering could be hard to handle.

Hannibal opened his eyes for the first time in half an hour. "I don't think the answer is to give him _another_ concussion, Corporal,"

"Wouldn't have to if you two were watching him properly."

"I'm planning. It takes concentration." Hannibal looked less 'deep in thought', and more 'troubled'. "Face, are you looking after Murdock?"

"Too busy being awesome." B.A. took the red light as an opportunity to rest his head against the wheel. If he'd known what Face would be like after a successful plan, he'd have let Hannibal make it.

"C'n I ride in the trunk? I don't think there's room back here for me and his ego. Plus, it's dark and quiet in there. Probably less spinny, too."

"Oh, come on! Who made the awesome plan? Who got kissed by Charissa and got us the key?"

B.A. lifted his head to look Face in the eye through the mirror. "Who forgot about the rocket launcher?"

"I didn't _forget_ about it. I just didn't know Pike had one."

Hannibal gave a tight smile that didn't reach his eyes. "You did just fine, kid. You'll soon be beating me."

"So what do we do now?" asked B.A. "I don't even know where I'm going."

Face paled. "Dude, I don't know. Ask Hannibal!"

"We'll find a cheap motel and lay low for a couple of days."

Face sat up suddenly. "Are you crazy, Hannibal? We can't stay here. L.A.'s crawling with the army, and they're all looking for us."

"Nah, they'll figure we'd be halfway out of state by now. So _I_ figure we should stay put. It's not like Murdock can fly us anywhere right now. We can hide in the L.A. underground."

"It doesn't even have an underground! B.A., back me up here!"

B.A. grinned happily. "We can go see my mama. Get my van from her garage!"

"Okay, so maybe there would be one place in L.A. they'd be looking for us. Besides, you've never let Murdock in the thing. We can't exactly leave him behind."

"Murdock." No reply. "Murdock!" Face repeated.

Murdock had his hat pulled over his eyes. "What?" he said, fuzzily.

"Do you think that's a good plan? He wants us to stay here, not go."

"Am I gonna get shot in the head?"

"…No."

"It's a great plan."

***

"I'm taking first watch, you can take second," said B.A.. He had waited for Hannibal and Murdock to be pre-occupied before talking to Face; Hannibal in the other room and Murdock face down, snoring, on the double bed in the one they were in.

"Hannibal…"

"Got the crap beat out of him this morning."

"But Murdock…"

"Got shot in the _head,_ " and wow, B.A. hadn't actually forgiven Face for that yet. At all. "I'll wake him in two hours to make sure his concussion isn't too bad, and I'll wake you up in four. Then you take over. You know they need the sleep more than we do."

"Yeah, they do. I was just hoping it was _over,_ you know? But it's not over. I'm not sure it ever will be now. Hannibal's not gonna be able to fix this, is he?"

B.A. had found out a long time ago that trying to tell Face that there was anything Hannibal couldn't do was a recipe for disaster. "Man, Hannibal knows people. He even knows people who know people. He already got me and Murdock back in once, didn't he? This'll be easy compared to that." He was saved from any more blatant lies by Murdock waking up at the sound of his own name.

Then of course, he had to make sure Hannibal didn't know about Face taking the second watch. Hannibal had insisted upon taking it, despite, or maybe because of the gruelling day they'd had. He managed to convince Hannibal that he would indeed be waking up early, Face that he actually would be, and Murdock to just go to bed already before he fell asleep on his feet. B.A. felt like he was spinning plates. He wondered if this was what Hannibal felt like _all the time_. If so, the least he could do for the man was provide him with one decent night's sleep.

B.A.'s watch was uneventful, apart from when he shook Murdock awake and was made to participate in a brief conversation about turquoise minstrel monkeys.

"Noooo. Want more sleep." Face cut a pitiful figure.

"You got ten seconds. Don't make me do it."

"You wouldn't," Face said warily, "It'd wake Murdock."

"I need to wake him up again anyway." With that B.A. reached under the covers and grabbed what he hoped was Face's ankle, then dragged ruthlessly upward until Face was fully out of the bed. And upside down. He was still clinging pathetically to the blankets.

"Can I take them with me?"

" _No._ Now go make sure we're not all murdered in our beds."

"I'd kind of like to be murdered in my bed right now."

B.A. slid under the covers. "Thanks for keeping it warm for me!" he called after Face.

"Hey. Fool. Time to wake up," Murdock rolled over, muttered something intelligible, and planted his face in B.A.'s neck. "Just for a minute, man."

"I'm awake," he lifted his head and B.A. was able to check his pupils. "Do I actually need to be awake for this bit?"

"Yeah, you have to be awake. It'd be creepy if you weren't," said B.A., "I'd think you were dead or something."

"Zombie Murdock! Braaaaaaaains."

B.A. shook his head. "No, man. Don't have to wait until you're dead, you need brains _now_."

Murdock gave a short laugh. "Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Yeah. I was just making sure you were okay, is all."

Murdock dropped his head back down onto B.A.'s collarbone with a thump. "Can I go to sleep _here_ now?" Murdock asked this every time they had to share a bed, had done for years, and B.A. always said no. Always.

"Yeah."

It's not like Murdock was going to remember this in the morning anyway.

***

"Boss, make B.A. not go to his mom's house!"

"B.A., what did I tell you yesterday? It's the one place in L.A. they might expect to find us."

"Hannibal, my mama visited you in prison. And you, Face. You really gonna pass up the chance to tell her that we're okay after yesterday?"

"She didn't visit me," piped up Murdock.

"She doesn't have a passport, fool! You were in Germany or some ridiculous shit. Now, if we can get my van out of her garage, we won't have to worry about scamming one. That's one less thing to have to deal with."

"You've never let me in your van. Not once. And I helped you _fix_ it." B.A. really hoped Murdock's little ray of sunshine act today wasn't because B.A. had managed to untangle himself from him about five minutes after Murdock had fallen asleep again, and they'd woken up on opposite sides of the bed.

"Honestly, we may end up _living_ in the van soon," Face said, darkly. "At least it's a nice one."

"If I promise to let Murdock in the van, can I go?" he was well aware that he was pleading now, but he didn't care.

Hannibal hid a small grin. "Only if we all go. I don't want us splitting up."

***

"Mama! Mama!"

"Come here, boy, and let me see you," Mrs. Baracus marched straight past B.A.'s outstretched arms and caught Murdock by the chin, lifting his head to see the livid bruise on his temple. "Does it hurt very badly?"

"Only when I think, ma'am," said Murdock in a very solemn voice, his eyes going wide. He waited until B.A.'s mother was looking the other way, then gave B.A. a wicked grin and mouthed 'I'm her favourite.'

"What happened to you, child?"

"I got shot in the head."

She gave him a severe look. "Sweetie, I know you don't want to talk about it, but you don't have to make things up,"

"No, mama. He really got shot in the head. I told you there was nothing in there to hurt!" said B.A.

They were startled by a loud knock at the door. "Were you expecting company, ma'am?" asked Face.

"I think it's for us," said Murdock.

Mrs. Baracus moved to answer it, but was stopped by a hand on her arm. "Better leave it to us, just in case it's someone unsavoury," said Hannibal. "Captain, could you please make our visitor welcome?"

Murdock drew his gun and cautiously opened the door. "El Diablo!" he squeaked, as Sosa strode into the already cramped living room, folded her arms and glared at them.

"What is wrong with you people? I busted my ass getting you out and you just want to be recaptured! What are you even doing here?" she hissed, "Do you have any idea how many people are looking for you? To come here…"

"They're not looking here. They're not looking in _L.A._. Hannibal figured they'd all figure we'd be long gone by now." Face interrupted.

"Well I didn't figure that!"

"Why not?"

"Because you're idiots!"

"Are we idiots who're under arrest, is what I want to know," said Hannibal.

"I've been barred from contacting you, so I'd get in nearly as much trouble as you guys if I waltzed in with you guys in cuffs. They said I was 'too close to the case'. My new job is so much more fun. They've got me chasing Lynch down. You know he was broken out of CIA custody last night?"

"…That's not the same as 'he broke out', is it?" asked Face.

"Nope. And it was someone matching Pike's description, too."

"Pike's dead," B.A. said quietly. "Really, really dead."

"Yeah, you were a little out of practice, weren't you _killer_? Look," she said, turning to Hannibal, "Staying here wasn't a terrible plan, but you didn't know all the variables. These guys are going to be gunning for you. Not just that, but the army have sent for some special trouble shooter to come after you. Should be here by the end of the week. If you need me, you have my number. Unfortunately."

"Now, I know you didn't just come here to see me, nice as this is," said B.A.'s mother as Sosa swept out of the house.

"Mama, we need the van back for a while."

"But how will I do my grocery shopping?"

B.A. gave a perplexed look. He had expected Face to whine. He had expected Murdock to moan about never being allowed in it. He had expected Hannibal to complain they'd be easy to find. He hadn't expected his mama to get too attached to give the van up. "And I take the kids at the day care centre to little league in it! What'll they do without it?"

"Bosco'd love to take them! He could even help around the day care centre." Damnit. Murdock was trying to be helpful again.

"Oh, bless you boys," she handed the keys to B.A. "I'll tell them to expect you both next week," and it was almost, _almost_ worth it to see Murdock's face drop like that.

B.A. made a deeply undignified yelp when Murdock threw back the sliding door of the van. "Get out of there," he growled.

"Hannibal said I was allowed now," said Murdock, giving B.A. his best wounded look. B.A. suspected he practised. "He _said._ You said, didn't you?"

Hannibal sighed as Murdock began to get out of the van. "I don't know, maybe we could leave him with your mother, B.A…."

"No!" B.A. shoved Murdock back down into his seat. "Sit your ass down." Hannibal smiled.

"You think Pike and Lynch would come after us again?" asked Face.

"If it was just Lynch, yeah, I think he would. Pike's too pragmatic, though. Plus they'll be a little busy with Sosa on their tails. The woman is tenacious. No, I think we'll do just fine staying here."

***

B.A. did not regard himself as a paranoid person, not even with the might of the U.S. Army about to be brought down upon his head. But as he hid the van in the motel garage, the noises began to get to him. There was definitely someone in there with him, and their movements were _sneaky_. He grabbed a wrench and hid behind the next car. The footsteps that had been so well hidden were getting closer. He raised the wrench above his head, when he was suddenly tackled from behind. "Toby, stop that! I'm real sorry, Mister. He's just a little jumpy right now," a little girl had poked her head around the side of the car to talk to him. B.A. stared at the small boy who had successfully swept the legs out from under him.

"But that's how the football players do it on T.V.," he said, giving B.A. a pensive look.

"That _ain't_ how the football players do it on T.V.," said B.A.. He rose, and gently picked the boy up. "I can show you how to do that properly, outside." He hustled the two kids out the door. "What was all that about, anyway?"

"We were watching for bad guys," the little girl, Kate, said.

"You get a lot of those around here?" B.A. grinned, trying to play along with their game. She shrugged, but didn't give an answer. "I'm looking for bad guys too. Kind of. You want to come with me?"

***

"Is that a bad guy?" Kate pointed at Murdock, who was leant against the side of the motel, hands in his pockets, hat pulled down close over his eyes, looking for all the world like the wanted criminal he was.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Looking for bad guys!" Toby chirped. Murdock stared, and then broke into a grin.

"Awesome! Can I come too? Are yours spies or mafia or what? Ours are army."

Kate spoke very slowly, as if to someone stupid. "The army aren't bad guys, mister." B.A. cackled with laughter and Murdock took him aside.

"You're taking them to do a perimeter sweep with you? Seriously? And you think I'm the crazy one? You gonna give them some guns while you're at it?"

B.A. sighed and waited for Murdock to notice Kate's black eye, Toby's bandaged wrist. "You want to watch them for five minutes while I go talk to their parents?"

"And by 'talk' you mean go kick their…'"

Toby tugged at his hand. "Go kick their what? Kick their what?"

"All their troubles away!"

"Promise?" They didn't quite know what to say to that.

"Hey, maybe you guys could help me pack? I think we'll be leaving _really quickly_ ," Murdock made _go_ motions at B.A.

***

Face and Hannibal were watching Murdock have a water fight with the kids through the window by the time B.A. got back to the room. He suspected that they had put money on it. "Hannibal," he said, as Toby and Kate's mother entered the room behind him. "You gotta hear this."

"Can you really help us?" asked Mrs. McKenzie. Hannibal raised an eyebrow.

"What seems to be the problem?"

"It's Griffiths Hotels. They're trying to run us out of business. We're only a little place, we can't deal with this kind of thing. I think they've got the cops in their pockets, or maybe just running scared of them. They threatened my customers, roughed up my kids, you name it. You're lucky they haven't been back while you've been here, or you would have been in for it too."

Hannibal snorted with amusement. "Would we really? Ma'am, I think my boys can handle a few thugs." He stopped at the delighted look on her face. "Hypothetically. We haven't agreed to anything. What would you even want us to do?"

"Just scare them off, I guess. Stop them. You think your boys can handle that? I'll let you stay here for nothing if you do it."

"Ooh, that would be a big help, boss. I've been looking at the books backwards and sideways and I really can't stretch our budget more than a few weeks." Face had been in a state of constant worry about their finances since they'd broken out of a prison van with nothing more than the clothes on their backs.

"Well, I'm sure you're professionals," she said, watching Toby catch Murdock full in the face with a water balloon. "I'll leave you to it."

Hannibal waited until Mrs. McKenzie was out of earshot. "B.A., forgetting all the other things wrong with this situation for a moment, how do we know she isn't beating her kids and then selling us a story?"

"We can check it out. It'd be easy enough. And Face is right about the money."

She came back into their room, looking panicked. "They're here! Joe Griffiths' people. They don't look like they want to negotiate." They watched out the window as Murdock grabbed the kids out of the way of a number of burly men. A very large number of burly men.

"I'm happy to take that as evidence," said B.A..

"Okay," said Hannibal. "Here's the plan…"

***

"So. You're still in the process of getting back on the plan horse, huh boss?" Back in the room, Face held an icepack under his eye. "Maybe I could come up with them for a while? I think I did okay at the port…"

"At least none of them had a rocket launcher this time," Hannibal snapped.

"Oh man. We'd have been so screwed if they had one of those. We're bad enough off as it is!" said Murdock.

"You know if I mess my looks up I can't scam things anymore. You know that! Even if we pull this off we're going to be living on ramen and beans for the next six weeks," Face shifted the icepack until it was more comfortable. "Why didn't that plan work right?"

"Hannibal's plans never work right. They just _work_." Murdock frowned slightly. "Except that one. That didn't work. That plan, in fact, was crap."

"Look, technically, it worked. We got more intel on their operation and that was all I wanted for us to do today."

"What the hell did we find out?" asked Face.

"That it's a lot bigger than we thought!"

"What about the not getting our asses kicked part of the plan?"

"Ah. We didn't have one of those," said Hannibal.

"You do remember that we don't have health insurance anymore, right? They don't give that to convicts on the run. Man, I think I lost a tooth!"

"I'm worried about Bosco," Murdock announced. "I haven't seen him since those guys kicked our asses. You think he's pissed?"

***

B.A. was _pissed_. He'd been forced to leave the guys in the middle of the fight, on Hannibal's orders to trail Griffiths' men back to their headquarters. He hated when Hannibal pulled that kind of bullshit; he needed to be in that fight. The guys were going to get their asses kicked without him. Okay, maybe with him too. They'd severely underestimated the size of the force that would be sent against them.

The van disappeared through the gate of the mansion. At this point B.A. had two choices. He knew he was supposed to go back to the motel, with no concrete evidence and little more than a location, ready to lead the guys into what could easily be a trap. Or, he could break in there and get some evidence, as well as an idea of what was going on. It wasn't the hardest decision he ever made. Hannibal was going to _kill_ him.

He jumped the fence and landed in behind the hedge, then promptly wished he hadn't when he saw what was parked on the lawn. B.A. knew that if he told Hannibal about the helicopter then there was only one way this was ending. He was going to wake up screaming in it.

He watched as Joe Griffiths welcomed back his ten 'heroes'. These guys were well organised for civilians, had some fairly decent kit, too. His team hadn't stood a chance against them, especially when he couldn't be in the middle of the fight like he wanted to be. He noted the number of guys, the structure of the compound, the weaponry. B.A. wanted to take the wind out of their sails so bad he could taste it. Hannibal had said, had _ordered_ him not to engage them directly. But he hadn't said anything about messing with them a little.

It didn't take him very long to reassemble and turn back on all the perimeter alarms. Then set them all off at the same time. B.A. cheerfully disappeared during the panic.

"They have a helicopter!" he blurted as soon as he came through the door.

"It's not even my birthday," said Murdock.

"You sound surprisingly enthusiastic about it," Hannibal gave B.A. a considering look.

"About my unbirthday?"

"About the helicopter. You have some second thoughts about sharing that information?"

"I thought I should get it over with. They got a load of guns and guys, too. You want me to be enthusiastic about that too?"

***

"You think I don't notice things, because I'm… you think I don't notice things, but I do," Murdock said very softly, despite everyone else having left. Oh shit. B.A. didn't want to have this conversation now. Or ever, for that matter. He was perfectly content to just keep it at occasionally dropping tools just for the opportunity to see Murdock bend over for them. He looked around frantically for an escape. "Hannibal hasn't had a good plan since Morrison. You can see what that did to him. I know psychology, remember?" he flashed a brilliant smile. Between that and the dreaded subject being avoided, B.A. was helpless.

"So what are we gonna do about it?"

***

"We just need to kick start him. He'll be fine once he has something go right."

"And us being in a toy store, that's gonna help Hannibal?" B.A. looked at Murdock suspiciously.

"You'll see. I have a _cunning plan_." Oh God, B.A. thought to himself. The plan apparently involved lots of little matchbox cars. "You have money, right? Face keeps taking mine off me. Says I'll just buy stupid crap and we don't have enough to waste." B.A. stared at the cars, pointedly.

"Haven't done this since I was twelve," B.A. muttered half under his breath at the till.

"Twelve? Ain't that a little old for…" Murdock stopped after the growl. "Twelve's just fine! I'm sure you had a very fulfilling childhood."

"I liked cars, okay?"

"Uh, Bosco?" Murdock grabbed B.A.'s sleeve. "I don't know if you noticed, but some fine members of the L.A.P.D. are staring at us."

B.A. sighed. He'd known this was a bad idea. "Maybe they think you're hot." At Murdock's raised eyebrow, he said, "Yeah, you're right. Let's get out of here."

"Should've borrowed Hannibal's tape recorder for that. I'll just have to remember you said it."

"Freeze!" shouted a cop, who got a few shots off before they ducked behind a display of those damn dolls that said 'mama'. If B.A. never heard that sound again he could die happy.

"Are they supposed to start shooting that soon? I don't think they're supposed to start shooting that soon." Murdock whispered, positioning himself almost in B.A.'s lap.

"Would you move?" he hissed back.

"There ain't any room. Do you remember if Hannibal said we were allowed to hit cops or not now?" B.A. didn't, but he was definitely arguing for a 'unless they start it' amendment when they got back to the motel.

"I only remember Hannibal said we weren't supposed to kill anyone unless absolutely necessary." He'd been so relieved about that. Apparently it wasn't even for his benefit, Hannibal had just decided they didn't need any more trouble than they already had.

"Uh, _yeah._ I had, like, a six hour lecture on it. Blah blah blah, when someone says 'you and whose army?' we can't say 'that one' anymore." said Murdock in a perfect impression of Hannibal. B.A. was horrified to see Murdock jump up off him. Oh crap. He noticed. He _noticed._ Except Murdock abruptly sat back down on him and waved a jar in his face. "Marbles!"

"Tell me you're not gonna…"

"Oh, I'm gonna."

"We don't live in a cartoon, Murdock."

"Eight years, and you still think that?" Murdock shook his head. Then he scattered the marbles across the floor, grabbed B.A.'s hand, and pulled him to his feet. "Run!"

"You know this ain't gonna stop them shooting at us!"

"It's not?" They heard a scream behind them, then a crash. "It totally is."

They made it all the way to the van without being shot, and B.A. even remembered to bring the cars.

***

"They _shot_ at us, Hannibal," said Murdock.

"Yes, that's their job. They're cops, Murdock. And we're convicted felons," said Hannibal, in the tone of someone who has had to explain this many, many times.

"But they didn't even give us a chance to say whether we were giving ourselves up or not!"

"Were you going to give yourselves up?"

"Well, no. But that's not the point!"

"Don't mind him, Hannibal," B.A. interrupted, "he's just sulking 'cause he lost his marbles."

Murdock gaped at him and B.A. started snickering.

Hannibal slipped out unnoticed as Murdock began to protest that they weren't lost, they were just all over a store. In his room he discovered a plastic bag with 'FOR HANNIBAL' written on the side in large, blocky letters. Inside were a number of matchbox cars and a tiny helicopter. He smiled as he picked up a car and examined it. It looked like he was back in business.

***

Hannibal beamed at them. "And I can hide grenades under the dress!" He began to lift it.

"No! We get the picture," Face wailed.

"In high definition, boss man," said Murdock.

"Good, we’re all ready to go, then." Hannibal left them to contemplate the horror of what they’d just seen.

"Who wants to go back in there and tell him he's 6'4" and can't pull off the little old lady look?" asked B.A.

"He was just so damn proud of himself."

"Yeah, it would be like telling Murdock there's no Santa."

"There's no _what?_ "

***

Bring the fight to them. Oh yes, taking the structure of the plan right back to basics would work just fine. It was all coming together again. He rang the doorbell again. "Avon lady?"

"That is the ugliest Goddamn Avon lady I've ever seen." Oh dear. He became aware of a shape looming behind him.

"I'm the Avon lady's bodyguard," said B.A.

It was only a small hitch in the plan.

***

It wasn't going well over the other side of the compound either. "Hey Face, they left the keys in this thing!"

"That's _nice_ , Murdock, but do you want to help me look around?"

"Not really? Oh, okay. Whoa. That's a lot of explosives. Are they all for us?"

"Whoa," repeated Face. "We should probably leave now. Right now. Because I'm not going to be responsible for telling Hannibal exactly how much stuff you've made go boom."

Murdock grinned wildly and grabbed the keys. "If we take the explosives with us, they won't have them anymore!"

"I am not entirely comfortable about travelling in a helicopter packed with explosives, buddy."

"Shut up and start loading, lazy."

***

"We're leaving! Now!" Hannibal called over. Face swung out of the helicopter.

"That's what I said! Mr Just-in-case-we-need-it here wouldn't let me."

"Good work, Captain," said Hannibal. Murdock beamed. "Come along, Corporal."

B.A. started. "Oh _hell_ no. I knew this was gonna happen." He looked at Hannibal. "Didn't I tell you this was gonna happen?"

"Hey B.A.. Does this smell like chloroform to you?"

Face watched as B.A. slowly toppled over. "I can't believe you just did that."

"I can't believe it worked! For someone who hates flying so much, he's sure gullible near helicopters," Murdock began to flick switches.

"Where did you even get that one from?"

"Saw it on T.V.. Hey, don't look at me, it was one of Hannibal's shows. You know what he's like."

"There's nothing wrong with my shows!"

"We're running a little heavy!" said Face. "Maybe we can give them back some of their dynamite?"

"We should nuke the site from orbit," Murdock said solemnly. "It's the only way to be sure."

***

Murdock knocked, for once, on their door. "I'm glad that you said. About the helicopter. And that we planned for it. I was, uh. I was worried." Things that worried Murdock seemed to range from the coffee looking at him funny to whether the smurfs were planning a coup.

"Worried how?" because he apparently just had to know.

"Well, you guys don't really need a pilot anymore. And all I was good for in Face's plan was getting shot at while you guys all ran around saving my ass. And I'm the least likely to be able to handle it out here. So Hannibal might think he was doing me a favour by sending me back."

"Back? Back where?"

"To Germany. Or Mexico, I guess, but they might not take me anymore, what with the whole convicted felon thing."

"Nobody is sending you back nowhere, you understand? I won't let them. I need you to help me build stuff, and to goof off so I can yell at you. I won't let them send you back because _I need you._ " Murdock's eyes flicked up to his face and he grinned.

"So you need me, huh? What else do you need me for?"

Wait what? This was not how B.A. Had imagined that this conversation would go. And he had imagined it _a lot_. In many different ways. "Picking up your tools? You sure drop them pretty damn often." Then he launched himself into B.A.'s lap. "Too much? I wasn't sure. Okay breathe, big guy! I can move."

He began to get up, but B.A.'s arm shot out _entirely of it's own accord_ and held him in place. "Wait. Just wait. We should talk about this. We should…" he was cut off with a kiss. Okay, never mind the jumping him thing; and that was a phrase B.A. never thought he'd use; _Murdock_ was now attempting to shut _him_ up. That was just wrong. So, so wrong and he would attempt to right that wrong just as soon as Murdock stopped kissing him. Any minute now.

B.A. stopped thinking altogether when Murdock took his shirt off. What with his primary role being back up, B.A. always forgot that Murdock had done all the same training as the rest of them, and probably fell somewhere between Hannibal and Face in terms of toughness. Looking at his body now he had no trouble remembering. Where Face was so well defined you could nearly pick out which machines he'd been using at the gym, Murdock's muscles were just a little softer. He looked like what he was; someone who worked damn hard for a living, and B.A. loved it. He went to touch Murdock's chest and was rewarded with a squeak and a laugh. "Hey! That tickles. Quit poking!" He realised what he'd said and burst into more laughter. "Well, maybe there can be some poking. Just a bit." He pulled B.A.'s shirt over his head before he could answer, trapping his hands with one of his own, then started stroking him through his pants.

After choking back a whimper, B.A. said "We could slow it down. We should slow it down. You might enjoy it more."

"No way," replied Murdock. "I give you time to think, you'll come up with a dozen reasons why this is a bad idea. And this is _not_ a bad idea. You know how I know that?" B.A. shook his head dumbly. "'Cause it's one of mine! And my ideas always work. Sometimes they even work right."

"My reasons would be just fine," he muttered against Murdock's skin. "If I could get a chance to think of them." Murdock grabbed some lube out of his pocket. "What, you just happened to have that in there?" Murdock shrugged, grinned and had him unzipped before B.A. had even half fumbled off Murdock's pants.

"You do not want to know all the stuff I have in my pockets. I'm prepared for everything! Wanted felony, zombie apocalypse, clowns…" his voice trailed off as B.A. began to finger him open, until all that could be heard was panting, "please," and " _harder._ "

"Now," he said finally, and B.A. pushed his way slowly in. He somehow managed not to thrust, and waited until Murdock was comfortable enough to push down on him. "Bosco," Murdock whined, and he got the picture. He rolled them over and started moving while Murdock wrapped his legs around him. Before he knew it, Murdock was making these little half choked out noises beneath him while his speed got more frantic. Murdock came with a yell just after B.A. started to jerk him off, and B.A. followed soon after, collapsing on top of him.

"We are gonna talk about this. Soon." was the last thing he remembered saying before drifting off.

***

Face noticed a distinct lack of shenanigans as he studied the papers they'd stolen. "Murdock?" he called, hoping for a distraction.

"I'm busy."

"It looks like you're reading a comic book to me."

" _Thinking._ "

"Oh, is that what that burning smell is?"

"You wound me, sir! Now shush." Face decided to bring out his secret weapon to get Murdock to pay attention to him. He didn't use it very often, in case Murdock would catch on to the game. He ignored him.

"Face? Face. Faaaaaaaaaaaace."

Jackpot.

"What do you usually do after you've had sex with someone? Well. Not what _you_ do. You run away. I don't want to do that. That's kind of dick move."

Face groaned. He knew he should have stuck with being ignored. "Everybody was right. I knew it. I'm a bad example! Why did you listen to me about having sex with locals? You get attached to people more than I do and then you'll get upset when we can't take them with us."

"I'm pretty sure this isn't a problem I can leave behind, Face."

"Tell me you didn't get her pregnant."

Murdock finally put his comic down. "Her?"

"Wait, it's not a her? Not that there's anything wrong with that! But you're not talking about Mrs. McKenzie? You didn't sleep with her?"

"At least I didn't get B.A. pregnant? Silver lining and all that, chaps."

"I. B.A.? What."

Murdock got up and yelled through the open door. "Guys! I think I broke Face! I don't know how to ctrl-alt-del him." Face tackled him and put a hand over his mouth.

"No, stop! We're cool. _We're cool._ I just… needed a minute to process. I mean, B.A.? Really?" He pulled his hand away when Murdock licked it. "Ew! Dude, that is so wrong."

"Works, though. You stopped blue screening on me?"

"Murdock's got a boyfriend!" Face sang. "You _love_ him and you want to _kiss_ him."

Murdock attempted to smack him.

"Okay, are we done being five? I need to show you something. I think I know what Joe Griffiths is after."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah. You see this?" Face waved one of the documents Hannibal and B.A. had haphazardly grabbed, "it says Griffiths tried to stake a claim for mineral rights on the land the McKenzie's motel is on. I guess he decided running her out of town is a better option than, you know. _Paying her_. And that's why they had to have so much dynamite."

"Heh, they don't have so much now. Hey wait, we're literally sitting on a gold mine? That's so awesome!"

"Well, no. It's not gonna turn out to be a gold mine. Those are all gone now. It might be quartz or tin or something, though."

"Do you think they have any panning equipment? Oh, I bet I could get Bosco to make me some!"

"Murdock, I'm not blowing off the mission to go panning for gold with you. This one has to go right, or we don’t eat."

"Oh, Susanna, don't you cry for me, 'cause I come from Alabama with my banjo on my knee!"

Face put his head in his hands.

***

"But where are your monkeys?" asked Murdock.

"My…? Oh!" she laughed. "The boys are covering for me. Again. You guys are really wrecking my assignment with your constant demands for attention. I thought Face was the only one who did that, but no. You're all as bad as him. I am thisclose to finding Lynch and Pike, people. Why are you wasting my time?"

Face brought out Toby and Kate, under extreme protest. He had claimed that Charissa Sosa had a heart of stone and would remain unmoved by the plight of small children. B.A. had argued that no one could look at their little faces and not want to help. Face claimed that B.A. was projecting his kid issues all over the situation. B.A. said that Face was projecting his relationship issues all over the place. B.A. had finally won the argument by threatening to thump him.

"These two were beaten by people trying to force them out of their home," Hannibal said gently. Sosa glared at him for a long time, then sighed.

"What do I have to do?"

"You just have to make sure a very nice lady gets to the town hall and back to stake a mining claim, without anyone trying to stop her."

"Why me?"

"The guys who want her stopped? They've seen us. They don't know you, though. You can get this done with much less hassle."

"You," she pointed to Mrs. McKenzie. "Come with me before I change my mind." With that, Sosa stole Murdock's hat and placed it on the woman's head. "There. Much less conspicuous," she dragged her out of the room.

"My hat!"

"Hey, Murdock," B.A. grabbed his shoulder, "I just need to talk to you."

"But my hat."

"You'll have to wait," said Hannibal. "I need you to watch the kids while Murdock brings the van around for a few modifications."

"It's my van!"

"And I want to come back to a motel that's in one piece, which it won't be if Murdock is left watching them. Will it, Captain?" Murdock smiled and shook his head. "Give him the keys, B.A.. Don't you trust him?"

"Not with my… I mean. Yeah. Of course." he threw the keys to Murdock.

"But my _hat._ I feel like Samson after a hair cut."

***

"Are you going to shoot people?" asked Mrs. McKenzie, almost unrecognisable under Murdock's hat and a very large pair of sunglasses.

"I'm going to try real hard not to. It would be difficult to explain why I was here. And on this side of the fight."

"Do I get a gun?"

"Not unless you have the appropriate training."

"Oh. I don’t."

"Yeah, I kind of guessed that. What's your first name?" asked Sosa.

"Karen. What's yours?"

"You don't need to know that. I just didn't want to have to shout 'Mrs. McKenzie!' across the room if we got into trouble. Karen is shorter."

"But what do I call you?"

"Captain." Sosa scanned the room. "Here's how it's gonna go. You're gonna go up there, make nice to the teller, whatever. I'll be right beside you all the way, but don't try to draw me into conversation. It'll be distracting."

Which is just how it went, right until Sosa spotted a guy watching them. "Are you done yet?"

"Nearly."

"Be done soon. We have to go. Now."

"Done!"

Sosa grabbed Karen's hand and hauled her through the room to the stairwell. "Ditch the shoes if you have to, but we need to be gone." They made it to the first floor without a hitch, until Sosa cracked the door open. "There's a guy posted between us and the door," she said. "I need you to get in the cupboard under the stairs and stay there until I come back. Can you do that?" Karen nodded.

"Hey, man. Do you know where the mining department is? My friend needs to stake a claim." Sosa watched his face fall as he realised. "Yeah. Sorry." She punched him in the face. He reeled, but came back and hit her in the ribs. She swept the legs out from under him, caught him by the hair and bounced his head off the hard floor.

Sosa opened the door. "We're going!"

Karen took a sharp intake of breath when she saw the prone man. "But shouldn't we stay and explain to the police…"

"The last thing I need is to be explaining what I'm doing here. I am in the DoD, I'm not supposed to be getting into fights in the town hall to protect friends of wanted criminals."

"…I don't know any wanted criminals. But we're in the right!"

"That doesn't always matter. And no, of course you don't. I just lost the run of myself there a little," she pointed at Karen's hat, "and you need to give that back, otherwise we're both dead."

***

"Murdock's bringing the van," said Face. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I have no idea what you mean."

"You suck at pretending to be okay. I’m gonna take a look at those ribs when the van arrives."

Distant singing let him know both that Murdock was on his way, and that he'd moved onto 'My Darling Clementine'. He heard a crash, then a grinding noise and covered his eyes with a hand, "and I assume that would be him now."

"I'll let you sort this out, shall I?" asked Sosa.

"Uh," Face looked at the wreckage. "I may need a little help here. You know anything about mechanics?"

"I just came to give the damn hat back!"

They watched Murdock get out and comically clap both hands over his head as he noticed the spoiler was halfway down the back of the van.

"Seriously, how did you not know that it wouldn't fit? There's a sign right there. Look, 'height 6'4" only.' The van's at least two inches higher than that," said Sosa as she attempted to lift the spoiler back on top of it. Murdock continued to stride across the top of the van, so she poked him in the ankle with a wrench.

"Hey, if you keep hitting me…" he put his fists up and bounced along the roof. "Lemme at 'em! I'll splat 'em!"

She laughed and said "Whatever, man. Whatever. I could take you."

"It's not like I ever get to drive this van anyway! B.A. said I'd mess it up." Sosa very carefully looked at Murdock, then the van. "I can't tell how high it is from the inside! Do you think B.A. would let me drive it more often if we told him? He might think I need the practice."

They finally, _finally_ got it all repaired just as Hannibal arrived. "That's great work, kids, but you fixed it _inside_ the parking lot. How are you planning on getting it out again?" As one, they groaned.

"It wasn't my fault, Hannibal! Look, the bar sags in the middle."

"That's brilliant, Murdock!"

"It is?"

"Yes! In fact, for being the one to point that out to me, you can direct. Captain Sosa, if you could get in the driver's seat?"

"Hannibal, I never say this, but this is a terrible plan." said Face.

"You always complain when you get the heavy lifting," said Hannibal as they pushed the bar up to its maximum height so the van could get through.

Face opened the back door of the van and went to pull Sosa inside. Hannibal raised an eyebrow. "She busted her ribs, boss."

"Bruised! I only bruised them!" she said.

"I'm just checking them out. For her."

"Leave the door open, you two."

Face laughed. "B.A. and Murdock don’t!"

"B.A. and Murdock _what?_ " asked Sosa.

"See?" said Face as he clipped Murdock across the back of the head. "It's a totally normal reaction."

"I hate to break this to you, but if she's doing it, it ain't a normal reaction." He ducked as Sosa tried to steal his hat again. "Run, run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"

Inside the van, Sosa lifted her shirt up slightly. "Don't get any ideas. I'll snap your neck."

Face raised his hands. "I'm not doing anything!"

"Yet. I remember what you're like."

"Hey, you kissed me last time."

"That was cover for helping to break you out! I'm not doing it again.” he grinned at her. "I'm not!"

"Not even if we get captured again?"

"Not even for a Goddamn Scooby Snack."

***

B.A. resisted the urge to throw his soldering iron across the room when Hannibal asked for the fifth time whether he was sure the little gadget would pick up all cell phone calls within 100 metres. Instead, he took a deep breath and explained exactly how it worked.

Hannibal stopped welding and looked at B.A. "You okay? I know we haven’t had much of a chance to talk since…" he waved a hand to encompass 'everything'.

"This is some big, life-changing stuff going on, Hannibal. You know? I'm just holding on through it," he prayed Hannibal wouldn’t ask exactly what _kind_ of big, life-changing things B.A. had been doing.

"Well, whenever you're ready to talk about it. I'm here."

B.A. sighed. "I should probably go talk to Murdock. About a thing."

Hannibal grinned. "All according to plan."

***

"Are you sure you were told to do this?" asked Sosa. "And what are the bedsheets for?"

"I borrowed them from the hotel to cover the top. I'll pile leaves on when we're done. I'm digging traps! Do it all the time." Murdock paused. "Did it all the time. I'm not sure what we’re gonna do now."

"Maybe you could just keep doing this kind of thing?"

"No, I mean, seriously what are we going to do now? I can't reach the top of this thing!"

"Wait," said Sosa, "I can hear someone!"

"I think it's Face. Face! Faaaaaaaaaaaaaace!"

"No, don't call for him! He'll just laugh at us."

"Uh. Guys," said Face. "Very funny. I fell in a hole. Little help over here?"

***

Murdock cringed when he saw B.A.. That was definitely not the warm welcome he'd been hoping for. "It was a mistake! I know I shouldn't have done it."

B.A. kept his expression very, very steady. Murdock's reaction pushed him into doing the one thing Hannibal had never been able to make him do; be the bigger man in the situation.

"I put it all back together!" and if B.A. had been a slightly more dramatic person, he would have asked, 'what, my broken heart?' He really, _really_ wanted to ask that. "I mean, there were some bits left over but Hannibal said that always happens to him."

B.A. could nearly feel his brain go into reverse. "Uh. What are you talking about?"

"The van is fine! Everybody says so. How could everybody be wrong, B.A.? How? Even Sosa agreed with me and she's never done that before."

B.A. was torn between finding out if the van really was okay, and making sure Murdock wasn't actually breaking up with him.

"But we're okay, right?" he picked Murdock, even though he kind of wanted to strangle him right now.

"Who is?"

"You and me, dumbass."

"Why wouldn't we be?" Murdock pinched B.A.'s cheek. "You're my snookie-wookums!"

"Never. Do that. Again."

Murdock rolled his eyes. "Braaaaaaaaains," he intoned. "See? I knew we'd be fine. And you gave me your keys after. You'd never do that unless you were totally into me. Which you are, 'cause I'm awesome."

B.A. sighed. "Yeah, you are. But you didn't hear that from me." He kissed him, then pressed Murdock against the wall. B.A. ran his tongue down Murdock's neck, prompting a squeak, and another complaint of being ticklish. He caught Murdock's jaw with one hand and kissed him again, while Murdock busied himself by running his hands under B.A.'s shirt. He brought his arms up around B.A.'s neck, then in one fluid movement hooked both legs around his waist.

B.A. stopped and stared. "While I'm not gonna say that wasn't impressive, no way are we doing this here."

"Why not?"

"Because you get a _bed_. And sheets. And all stuff like that. Not a corridor," he caught Murdock by the hand and led him to their bedroom.

Murdock pushed B.A. down onto the bed. "You stopped being a prude now?"

"I'm just saying," said B.A., "you deserve better than that. Also you're heavier than you look." He snickered as Murdock gave a horrified look and smacked his arm.

"I changed my mind! No sex for you. Not until you apologise."

B.A. rolled on top of him, "I'm sorry you're so heavy. I'm sorry I want you so bad. And I’m sorry I've been thinking about this all day."

"Worst. Apology. Ever. But you're forgiven!" He squeaked as B.A. slipped a hand inside his pants.

"You sure I don't need to make up for it?"

"Well, when you put it like that, how can I resist?"

B.A. removed Murdock's pants entirely and swallowed him down. "I got a better idea," panted Murdock after less than a minute.

"Were you waiting for me to get a sore jaw before you said that?"

"No, that was just a bonus," he dragged B.A.'s pants off and slowly pushed a finger inside him. "We good to go?" He asked. B.A. just nodded. When Murdock slid in, B.A. immediately moved to meet him and began to set the pace. "Pushy," muttered Murdock.

"Says you, Mr. This-is-not-a-bad-idea," Murdock responded by curling a hand around B.A.'s cock. "You don't have an answer to that, do you?" He panted. Murdock laughed and thrust harder, as B.A.'s movements became stuttery. B.A. clenching down when he came caused Murdock to tip over the edge too.

"So twice is a thing, right?" Murdock eventually asked.

"And here I thought I'd finally found a way to shut you up," said B.A.

"It works! Just not forever. It has to be repeated. Frequently."

"I thought once was a thing."

"Twice is… more of a thing. Definitely. But once totally counted!"

"Backpedaller," said B.A. and kissed him.

***

"Are we all set?" asked Hannibal.

Murdock yawned. "I mean, yes bossman. Sorry, late night."

"Do I actually need to be here for this bit?" asked Sosa. "I'm pretty sure you can take care of this without my help."

Hannibal pointed at an empty piece of brush and said quietly, "I'd recommend it."

Joe Griffiths and his men suddenly appeared where Hannibal had pointed. With Lynch. "Excuse me, I need to take this," Lynch answered his phone. "Well you killed all the competent minions! No, he _was_ competent. Apart from the phone or gun thing. Seriously, you killed him for that and you left Kyle alive? Is he paying you or something? I mean, what's that going to teach him about competence on the job?"

"Captain Sosa, can you listen in?"

"Yes! I've got the call. Really quickly, considering I am basically using something made from _string_." Sosa switched the intercepted call to speaker and Pike's voice could be heard.

"No, you're not going to fuck me. I'm going to fuck you."

They all stared as she frantically put the call onto her headphones.

"You sure you got the right one, there?" asked Hannibal.

Sosa's reply was muffled by the hand still covering her mouth, "Maybe I should just monitor this alone."

Murdock snickered, "In your pants!"

"Did you know Pike and Lynch would be involved in this?" she asked Hannibal.

"I suspected. They have to earn a living, too. Not a huge stretch to wonder if they were doing something similar to us."

B.A.'s voice crackled over Hannibal’s radio. "Two down. They noticed yet?"

"Not yet. No, I tell a lie. I think they just did."

Sosa cackled with laughter and put the call back onto speaker. "Pike, what the fuck? There is some serious Blair Witch shit going down here."

"Are you high or something?"

"No, seriously man, Bill and Mick just _disappeared_. There's nowhere for them to go!"

"You're in the woods, you idiot. There's plenty of places for them to go."

Sosa, Hannibal and Murdock watched as B.A. grabbed the guy nearest the edge of the clearing and choked him out.

"Oh God," came Lynch's voice again. "Oh God where's Johnny?"

Pike sighed. "Do you want me to come out there and look or something? Maybe fluff your pillow and tuck you in while I'm there?"

"Yes please because I think we're all going to die."

"…That was sarcasm. But I will anyway, because you're such a damn chicken. I’ll be there in fifteen."

"Okay, but mind the traps when you get here. We managed to avoid them all!" Lynch said proudly.

"Wait, you didn't get out to the motel to whack the family?"

"No," said Lynch. "There were _traps_. We're heading straight to the site."

"Oh _Christ_. They're trying to corral you, you moron. Ten minutes! I'll be there in ten."

"Damnit," muttered Sosa. "They weren't supposed to figure that out."

Hannibal shrugged. "If it gets Pike here quicker they can figure out whatever the hell they want. I wouldn’t want to leave him as a loose end."

"Want me to keep picking them off?" asked B.A.

"Just keep following them for the moment. We'll join you shortly," said Hannibal.

"Can I have the helicopter keys yet? We could all get there before them!"

"Not yet. I don't know if you ever noticed, but helicopters are noisy."

"That's part of their charm!"

Hannibal laughed. "Okay, true. But they don't need to know what we're up to yet, and Face is already at the rendezvous point, so he's got that covered."

***

"Are they nearly here yet? I'm getting bored." asked Face through the radio.

"Just on our way now, kid. They seem to be getting antsy, too."

"Lynch is freaking out," added Sosa. "It's pretty awesome."

"I feel like a bad guy in Scooby Doo!" said Murdock. "Trying to scare off those meddling kids."

"Lemme at 'em! I'll splat 'em!" said Sosa as she punched Murdock lightly in the arm.

B.A. joined them. "What are you two even doing?"

Sosa and Murdock looked at each other for a moment, then the ground. "Playing Scooby Doo," she said quietly. Behind them, Hannibal snickered.

B.A. just shook his head, "And here I thought you was gonna be some kind of stabilising influence."

"What the hell would give you that idea?" asked Sosa.

"Someone's coming!" said Face.

"Good," said Hannibal.

"No, not good! It's Pike! What do I do?"

"Just stay there, kid, and stay quiet. We're coming. Murdock, I think you were right about the helicopter after all."

"Hannibal! You know I ain't going in the helicopter," said B.A.

"Is there a problem?" Sosa gave them a confused look.

"He knows I don't like flying! 'Specially not with this fool!"

Hannibal nodded at Murdock, who threw some black powder in the air. B.A. caught him by the neck. "Is that knock out powder? 'Cause it ain’t knocking me out! You guys screwed this one up," he began to sneeze, and Hannibal wordlessly handed him a handkerchief.

"It's just pepper!" said Murdock. "For good luck."

"No, you got a little more there," Hannibal motioned under his nose.

"Smells like… chloroform." Sosa caught B.A. as he passed out.

"We really should have done that closer to the chopper," said Sosa as she struggled with a heavy arm.

"They're here! They're setting the charges," Face's voice was barely audible over the noise of the helicopter.

"We got an ETA of approximately ninety seconds, Face," said Murdock.

"They're about to set them off! I gotta go."

"Hurry, Murdock," said Hannibal.

Finally, they saw the clearing where the mine was planned. Pike was holding a gun on Face, who had his hands up. "That," said Murdock, "was definitely not part of the plan."

"No, I see why he's stalling," Sosa pointed behind Face, "the last bit isn't connected."

"Think you and B.A. can do that while Murdock and I keep them busy?" asked Hannibal.

"B.A. is asleep!"

Hannibal grinned at her, "want to bet he'll still be sleepy after we drop him out of the chopper?"

"I'll aim for the trees. You take care of him," Murdock said fiercely to Sosa. Hannibal and Sosa rolled B.A. out of the door and she jumped out after him.

"Tell me that did not just happen," B.A. groaned as he held his head. "Murdock better cook for me tonight."

"Is. Is that some kind of euphemism?" asked Sosa. B.A. just glared. "We need to go fix a connection. Are you up for that?" He sighed and began to follow her.

Hannibal leaned out of the hovering helicopter. "Are you planning on shooting him, or is there a little wiggle room for negotiation?"

"Boss!" shouted Face. "Don't give him ideas."

"I tell you what. You throw out all your weapons and _admit I won_ , and I might just give your boy back."

Hannibal appeared to consider this, as B.A. put his hand up to signal they were done.

"What do we do now?" asked Sosa.

"We run like hell, 'cause I ain't convinced those guys are only gonna get singed."

"But they're not going to give Face back! We have to do something."

"You think it would screw up the plan if we set one of the charges off early?"

"Not so long as it's only a little one. Especially if you think there's a risk they might actually get hurt."

"There's always a risk," said B.A.. "I know it's only a little one but I wouldn’t want to bet Face's life on it."

Hannibal barely flinched when the explosion came. "Move it, Captain! We need to grab him." Pike was distracted by trying to discern where the blast came from, but Lynch grabbed on to the chopper at the same time Face did. Hannibal kicked him in the head and he fell to earth. "Take her up!"

"You can't stop us, Smith!" Pike shouted. "We're gonna blow this whole place wide open."

"I don't _want_ to stop you," muttered Hannibal. With that, Pike set off all the charges. Even the ones he didn’t know about.

It really was a very impressive explosion.

***

B.A. checked for pulses on the unconscious men. "You sure we didn't kill anyone?"

"He's _sure_ , Bosco," said Murdock, "Now will you come toast marshmallows with us?" He, Face and Sosa had them on sticks around the remaining fires, while Hannibal and B.A. tied up the gang. "Look, Face!" Murdock pointed at something glittering on the ground, "it's gold! It was a gold mine after all. "

"Goddamnit!"

Hannibal whispered in his ear, "B.A. just put it there to make Murdock happy. Don't say anything about it."

"Wait, I won the bet and I can't even gloat about it? That's so unfair!"

"Maybe next time you can lose?" asked Sosa, who was beginning to check the ropes holding Pike and Lynch.

"You’re going, aren't you?" asked Face. "With the police when they get here. They're bound to have heard the explosion."

"I have to."

"Stay with us. Please."

Sosa smiled. "Maybe they'll put me chasing you next time. It'll be fun!"

"We should go, kids," said Hannibal. "It was a pleasure being on your side for once, Captain." Sosa saluted.

"We are _walking_ back to the van," said B.A..

***

They'd just got back to the parking garage when they heard it.

"This is Colonel Decker of the U.S. army. You are completely surrounded."

Hannibal took a quick look through the small window at the mass of soldiers outside. "No kidding."

"Give yourselves up, or I'll flush the whole building and everyone in it right in the sewer."

"Is he kidding?" asked Face. "Who even says that?"

"He sounds like he's crazy," said B.A.

"In my considered and scientific opinion, he's cuckoo," replied Murdock.

"Your associate, Captain Sosa, will also be accompanying me. I've had an anonymous tip that you’ve been receiving help from her."

"Hey! Hey, Smith!” Pike shouted. "You think you were the only ones we wanted revenge on? If we're going down, she's coming with us! We'll be out of here in five minutes. Her? Not so much."

"Someone shut him up," said Decker.

"Oh God. We have to save her," said Face.

"So she can kick our asses?" asked B.A.

"We owe her one," said Hannibal.

"You want me to start blasting, Smith?"

"Well? Do you?" asked Murdock.

"I'm thinking."

"Think faster!" said B.A.

"I'm giving you two minutes," Decker called.

Hannibal laughed. "I love it. No matter how smart they think they are, they always screw up somehow. B.A., I'm sorry. We may have to sacrifice the van for Sosa."

"What? _No._ No way, man."

"Oh come on, Bosco. This is an actual person's life. Isn’t that more important than a big hunk of metal?" asked Face.

Murdock covered B.A.'s mouth with his hand, "You don’t want to know the answer to that. You really don't." He yelped when B.A. licked his hand.

"It's obvious, they have no choice," said Lynch.

"Shut up," said Decker. "With anyone but Colonel Hannibal Smith, that's true. With him, nothing is obvious. That's why he keeps beating you. I won't make that mistake."

"Well what can he do?"

"We'll find out. In about 40 seconds." The door burst open with the force of a vehicle. It was soon brought to a stop by shots from Decker's troops. The jeep was in pieces from the bullets. “That's not their van, you idiots!” Decker shouted.

The van shot out of the hole left by the jeep. The back door swung open, and as Face grabbed Sosa he shouted, "That's totally not our van! Big mistake, guys."

***

Face waved his print out at them. "Somebody wants us to go to Mexico to rescue a guy."

"Huh. I never been on the rescuing side of that. Can we? Pretty please?" asked Murdock.

"While Mexico sounds great right now, we have to make sure these things are legit. Who's it from?"

"Some reporter, Alan something. No, Amy Allen."

"I googled her," said Sosa, "she comes up clean."

"Well then," Hannibal shifted his cigar to the other side of his mouth, "I guess Amy Allen just hired the A-Team!"


End file.
